Exchange
by Yoruichi 'Ino
Summary: Jealousy led to an exchange between two people of royalty. Kalulu


Hi! Well, I would like to thank everyone who reviews my stories! People who favorite them are awesome! But nevertheless, I do ask that you please review. I honestly want to hear what you think! :D But, on another note, I have to admit I have always wanted to do this fic, just to see how Kallen would react to the whole Cupid's Day thing—it's a whole different side to her. So it's sort of AU, because Lelouch hasn't been discovered and Shirley is alive. I hope you guys like it: cue music!

* * *

--Exchange--

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Kallen would have ruled with Lelouch if I owned Code Geass.  
**Summary:** Jealousy led to an exchange between two people of royalty. Kalulu

* * *

"Now there's that rare smile I ever get to see." Gino proclaimed as he looked at the half-Eleven half-Britannian prisoner. Whether it was teenage hormones or something else, the blonde Knight of Three felt attracted to the Ace of Pilots. Not that the Kozuki was giving him the time of day, but there was just something about her. Her determination, resilience, strength, devotion… If anything, the only reason Kallen was listening to him was because she was confined to her glass prison.

"Yeah." Kallen absentmindedly muttered as she tore her eyes from the photo album Gino was holding towards her. She looked seriously at Gino before smiling once again upon seeing the picture of her and Lelouch. A certain feeling, one she wasn't too clear about, tugged at her heart. It was a good feeling, one she only obtained when she was reminded of her leader in some way. And to think that their picture was the first appearance any of them made in the album sent the edges of her mouth upward. "He does that to me. Though I don't know why."

"Who? Lelouch?" The blonde Knight curiously inquired. Something finally clicked in his mind. So _he_ had been the source of her happiness. Gino attempted with all his power to not roll his blue eyes at the thought. Honestly, what girls saw in that scrawny guy, he would never understand. Suddenly, something in his memory hit him: Cupid's Day. "Wait, but he's Shirley's boyfriend now."

"What?!" Kallen once again tore from the photo album. What had Gino just said? Her aqua eyes screamed for him to repeat his statement, but were fearful that she had actually heard correctly. For an instant, the redhead felt as if her heart had missed a beat. "Gino, what do you mean Lelouch and Shirley are together?"

Gino quickly turned his attention to the photo album. With much speed, he flipped through the pages, desperate to find the girl in question. "This orange-haired chick. That's Shirley, right?" The Knight of Three waited for Zero's Q-1 to answer. "Yeah, they traded hats during Cupid's Day. The President even announced it: they're boyfriend and girlfriend."

Confusion hit Kallen. All she could really hear was her heart break into tiny pieces. Cupid's Day. Lelouch. Shirley. Couple? With her eyes stinging, Kallen turned to look into Gino's eyes. They were nearly the same shade of blue as she had. She'd never noticed until now. In any case, she needed a further explanation. "Gino, can you please explain to me exactly what happened?"

As minutes passed by, the Kozuki felt as deep panged of envy throughout her body. The only thing restraining her was the chair and the glass box. Oh, Lelouch was so lucky he was no where near her. Although, talking with Gino was slowly making her forget why she was angry in the first place. He really was a nice guy once she gave him a chance…

* * *

Lelouch was fuming from head to toe as he walked down the hallway. For what seemed like the billionth time in a few weeks, Kallen Kozuki was treating him as if he was the worst possible being alive. No, that gave too much credit to that being, whoever it may be. Because Lelouch vi Britannia wasn't even able to get his Q-1 to look or talk to him.

He had been ecstatic when she had arrived to the battlefield. She had been like an angel whose sole purpose was to save a demon from death; that demon being himself. She had been so willing to save him, determined he should come out alive. Sure, she addresses him when the other Black Knights were around. But when it was just the two of them, all Lelouch received was the cold shoulder.

And to top it off, the other Black Knights spoke of Kallen's interaction with the Knight of Three. Apparently, he had made her confinement slightly easier. Out of everyone in the world, it had to be the Knight of Three: Gino. Lelouch didn't understand how Kallen could ever stand the blonde. His entire devotion was to Britannia, the common enemy of Lelouch and Kallen. In any case, Lelouch would no longer have his Q-1 ignoring him. He would get to the bottom of this.

Just as this though crossed the prince's mind, he noticed a redhead a few feet in front of him. The redhead had not seen her leader walking in the opposite direction. Amazingly enough, Kallen had gotten incredibly good at ignoring her masked-leader. She knew she was getting to him as she often heard a low groan escape his lips whenever she didn't acknowledge him. But this time, she should have paid better attention to her surrounding, because before she knew it, Lelouch grabbed her by the elbow, dragging her into to the closest room available.

Once inside, Lelouch locked the door. No one was going to come in and disrupt them. Hopefully, C.C. had listened to him earlier in the day. He wasn't going to have any interruption for anything. He needed to know why Kallen was mad. He needed her to end her silent treatment. He needed to know if anything had happened with Gino. Lelouch needed Kallen.

"Kallen, will you explain to me what I have done to you?" The black-haired boy requested once he had taken off his mask. He didn't remove himself from the door. Something told him she shouldn't move if he wanted Kallen to talk to him. And if he didn't move, she wouldn't attempt to leave, as it would mean coming in contact with him to get out.

As it was, not coming into contact with Lelouch would be a problem for Kallen. Lelouch had picked the worst possible room to have this discussion. It was so cramped that they were mere inches away from each other. But Kallen wasn't speaking. She merely crossed her arms under her bosom, glaring intensely at the magenta-eyes boy. If he thought confinement was going to make her speak, he had another thing coming. If she hadn't changed her mind to the Britannians, she wasn't going to budge now.

"Kallen, talk to me." Suddenly, one of Lelouch's magenta eyes turned red. Siler wings appeared in the center, where the pupil should be. At the sight, the Kozuki rolled her eyes and snorted.

"You and I both know you can't use your Geass on me anymore. Guess you forgot?" The Kozuki said in a matter-of-fact tone. Her arms continued to be crossed under her chest. She noticed as Lelouch's eyes turned to normal. Just one look into those purple eyes made her want to forget why she was mad in the first place. But it was so hard…

"No, I didn't. But it did get you to speak. Kallen, this is killing me. Please tell me why you're ignoring me. I can't take it anymore." The sincerity in Lelouch's voice and eyes caused the Red Lotus' anger to slightly dissipate. They had once told her that by looking into someone's eyes, you could tell their heart's desires. By looking into Zero's eyes, Kallen could tell he meant every word he said.

"Cupid's Day ring a bell?" Kallen asked with a bit of venom before turning her back to the exiled prince. Just thinking about it made her cringe and want to cry.

"Cupid's Day?" Lelouch murmured as he began walking towards the redhead. What had happen other than girls chasing him throughout the school? Hat trading. Shirley. Was that what she was referring to? "Who told you about Cupid's Day?"

"Does it matter?" Kallen continued to keep her back to Lelouch. "In any case, it was Gino."

"Oh, your Knight of Three boyfriend was it?" Lelouch spitted with the same amount of venom Kallen had used.

"He's not my boyfriend! And what's it to you if he was? And in any case, don't try to turn this around on me. Gino told me what happened. I know everything about the hat trading." Anger shone in Kallen's eyes.

"So you're mad about the hat trading with Shirley? And not about the other girls?" Lelouch playfully inquired, though with all her anger, Kallen didn't notice his tone. Maybe now was not the time to mess with her head, but Lelouch needed to confirm something.

"There were other girls?" Kallen felt as if the existent shattered pieces of her broken heart broke into a million more pieces. Trying to regain her composure, Kallen took in a deep breath. "You know what? I don't see why I even care. You're nothing of mine nor I nothing of yours. Forget this ever happened, Lelouch. I'll go back to talking to you if that's what makes you happy. I'm leaving now."

But before the Kozuki could push Lelouch out of the way, the black-haired boy took the girl into his arms. At first she attempted to get away from him, but his hold was like steel. A complete contrast to his other physical abilities. And neither of them could deny the electrifying jolt they both felt at coming into contact with one another.

"Kallen, I was kidding about the other girls." Lelouch whispered into Kallen's neck.

"Yeah, right." Kallen murmured into his ear.

"Look, you know the girls at Ashford. It didn't help that Sayoko made my clone go out with every other girl in the school. Them Millie had to make it a game to catch me. You know how she is. Shirley was just someone I happen to trust. So we traded."

"Does that mean you're going out?" The Kozuki whispered back. Lelouch's hold on her felt perfect, as if it had been the only missing piece of her life.

"I'm not sure actually. Maybe; it all depends." Lelouch said. As soon as he uttered those words, he felt Kallen pull away with great force. Anger was once again present on her features.

"Well, I hope you two have a happy relationship. Congratulations." Kallen said, feeling the needed to cry yet again. He stomach was in horrible knots; her heart was breaking slowly. She guessed that was the end of that. "I guess I'll talk to you later, Lelouch." Ouch! Even saying his name hurt now. She patiently waited for him to get out of her way. He had gotten what he wished for; she was going to speak to him again, so why wouldn't he move?

"What about you and Gino? Are you two going out?" Lelouch suddenly blurted out.

Kallen was taken aback as she stared at her leader's form. What was with all these questions considering the Knight of Three? "I answered your question earlier. I said he wasn't my boyfriend. Besides, you saw us fighting on the battlefield."

"Does it depend, though? Would you consider going out with him? Even if he was Britannian. Or if he were to come to our side?" Lelouch silently inquired.

"Maybe. I guess it does depend."

"Do you see where I'm coming from then?" Lelouch asked his pilot. "Do you want to know something, Kallen? Had you been there, I would have traded with you. Even though I've known Shirley longer, you are the one I can truly trust. Because I do trust you. With my life and my heart." Lelouch explained to a flabbergasted Kallen. Had she just heard that?

Taking advantage of Kallen attempting to comprehend the previous, Lelouch took hold of the Kozuki's soft hands. Hands that compared so much to his: tainted with murder but striving to find a light. As he looked into her cerulean eyes, Lelouch came up with an idea. A smirk slowly formed on his face.

"Lelouch, I'm at lost for words." Kallen finally said. Her hold on Lelouch's hands becoming slightly tighter.

"That much I guessed." Lelouch chuckled. "And you're wrong. You are something to me and I to you. You are my Queen, the strongest and most vital thing I have in this world. I am your King, the one whom you protect above everything else." Kallen smiled at the comment. It amazed her how he put so much attention to her words, using them against her in the end by adding some truth behind them. She guessed he was on target. Kallen had just never thought about it that way.

"You're right." Lelouch chuckled at her confirmation. She merely rolled her eyes before continuing. "I would protect you above anything else. And I trust you're not lying about my importance to you." The Kozuki noticed as the Britannian denied the statement. "Good."

"Good." The teenagers smiled fondly towards one another. Lelouch let go of Kallen's hands to reach for her headband. "One more thing."

The redhead made no protest at Lelouch removing her headband from her head. Instead, she focused all her attention on controlling her heartbeats. With that rare smile of his, Lelouch handed his Queen her headband. His hands then reached to remove his ascot. He looked at a bewildered Kallen for a moment before speaking.

"A holiday will take place today. The object of this holiday is to trade something with someone of your choice. Once you have traded, it is safe to say you are a couple." Lelouch noticed as Kallen chuckled. Her eyes were shining with amusement. "Shall we call it 'Royalty's Day,' just to humor us both?"

"Because you're the King and I the Queen, you mean?" Kallen laughed as she finally understood the removal of her headband and his ascot. It would be their personal exchange. The establishment of their relationship.

"Exactly." Lelouch proclaimed. "Now, Ms. Kozuki, will you me the honors of trading with me?"

"Of course." Lelouch extended his arm. Kallen mimicked his movements. With the opposite hand, they took hold of their gifts. With their simple exchange, butterflies began to flutter in both their stomachs. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lelouch replied. For a moment, purple and cerulean eyes interlocked. In an instant, the boy knew what he had to do. It didn't take long for Lelouch's lips to be on those of Kallen. They both tasted sweet to one another. It was the confirmation that this would not be their last kiss; it was one of many to come.

It seemed Cupid's Day had brought more than had been intended by Millie. It had brought a new exchange to come forth, a new relationship to establish. It had brought the King and Queen together.


End file.
